UPDATE Nov. 6: Access to the 800 acres owned by the City of Ontario will not be available until further notice due to a land agreement already in place. A&H is working with the City and will restore hunting access as soon as possible.  

SALEM, Ore. — Hunters in Malheur and Harney counties will find more than 42,000 additional acres of private lands open on a ‘welcome to hunt’ basis this hunting season, offering a variety of high-quality opportunities to pursue big game, predators, upland birds and waterfowl.

These private lands have been opened to public hunting through agreements between the landowners and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Access and Habitat Program. These agreements involve per-acre payments to the landowners in return for permitting the public to hunt on their lands. In addition to providing more private land hunting opportunities, some of these properties also allow access to adjacent public lands that are otherwise difficult to reach. The access agreements range from five to 10 years in duration.

The Access and Habitat Program is funded by a $2 surcharge on hunting licenses.  Funds raised by the program are distributed through grants to individual and corporate landowners, conservation organizations and others for cooperative wildlife habitat improvement and hunter access projects throughout the state.

The newest A&H Program ‘open to hunt’ opportunities in Harney and Malheur counties are:

Otley Access Area

This diverse habitat on Steens Mountain offers opportunities to hunt mule deer, elk, pronghorn, sage grouse and upland birds on 16,737 acres for a 10-year period. Public hunting access is available annually from Aug. 1 through March 1.

For more information contact the ODFW Malheur Watershed District office in Hines at 541-573-6582.

Roaring Springs Ranch

A total of 20,137 acres of the Roaring Springs Ranch, located in the Catlow Valley on the west side of Steens Mountain, are open to public hunting access from Aug. 1 through March 1 for the next 10 years.

Hunting opportunities on this High Desert property include mule deer, pronghorn, sage grouse, upland birds, waterfowl and predators.

For more information contact the ODFW Malheur Watershed District office in Hines at 541-573-6582.

Bentz Access Area

Deer, chukar and predators may be found on this 4,676-acre Malheur County property located on the north side of Highway 20, 5.5 miles east of Juntura. A road posted as open leads to the property.

The area consists of sagebrush and juniper rangeland and, in addition to hunting opportunities, provides driving access to a large tract of BLM land as well. Motorized vehicles must stay on the BLM access road posted as open.

Public hunting access to this property is available from Aug. 1 to March 1 through 2012. For more information contact the ODFW Malheur Watershed District office in Hines at 541-573-6582.

Ontario Public Access Site

A total of 800 acres owned by the City of Ontario will be open to public hunting access during upland bird and waterfowl seasons through May 31, 2017. The property is located in the east Beulah Wildlife Management Unit near the city of Ontario. Please note that access to this area is unavailable until further notice due to another land agreement already in place. A&H is working with the City and will restore hunting access as soon as possible.  

For more information contact the ODFW Ontario field office at 541-889-6975.

In addition to these sites, the McBride, Lawen Lane and DeGuire access sites in Malheur County, which were established through the A&H Program beginning last year, offer an additional 18,720 acres of public hunting access. Contact the ODFW Malheur Watershed District office in Hines at 541-573-6582 for more information on these locations.

For information on the A&H Program call program coordinator Matt Keenan at 503-947-6087 or visit the website at http://www.dfw.state.or.us/ah/